Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 12m

Ghastly, immoral, terrifying: @KristiNoem shared an AI video set to “Love Boat” showing innocent civilians blown up by the U.S. government, calling it patriotic.

This is state-sanctioned dehumanization, and it’s being normalized for public consumption.

x.com/kristinoem/s...

Kristi Noem on X: "President Trump LOVES the American people. That is why drug traffickers and narco-trafficking boats will no longer be allowed to transport deadly drugs into American territory. Thank you, @POTUS Trump for protecting our shores! https://t.co/q2kDrZEovZ" / X

President Trump LOVES the American people. That is why drug traffickers and narco-trafficking boats will no longer be allowed to transport deadly drugs into American territory. Thank you, @POTUS Trump for protecting our shores! https://t.co/q2kDrZEovZ

x.com

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

✊ October 18 — #NoKingsDay — protest, march, speak.

Gutting the CDC isn’t just bad policy. It’s an act of self-destruction.

Silence = complicity.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

📞 CALL CONGRESS: (202) 224-3121.

Demand the CDC staff be rehired immediately.

This is a matter of national security. Share this thread. People need to know.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

6/
No sane president would deliberately weaken national security by dismantling a key pillar of public health preparedness. 💥

CDC is national defense — our early warning system against pandemics, bioterror, and global outbreaks.

On Friday—Trump gleefully announced agency cuts.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

5/

This isn’t just incompetence—it’s a perfect blueprint for a foreign adversary. Gutting the CDC cripples U.S. defenses, leaving us exposed to pandemics or bioweapons. 🛑

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

6/
No sane president would deliberately weaken national security by dismantling a key pillar of public health preparedness. 💥

CDC is national defense — our early warning system against pandemics, bioterror, and global outbreaks.

On Friday—Trump gleefully announced agency cuts.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

5/

This isn’t just incompetence—it’s a perfect blueprint for a foreign adversary. Gutting the CDC cripples U.S. defenses, leaving us exposed to pandemics or bioweapons. 🛑

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

4/

The timing of these CDC layoffs is terrifying. With global health threats rising, a gutted CDC means the U.S. is slower to detect outbreaks, slower to respond, and at greater risk in any future health emergency. ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

6/

The CDC is a critical pillar of national security: disease detectives, labs, field teams, and global partnerships form our first line of defense.

Weakening it is not policy—it’s sabotage. 💥

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

5/

This isn’t just incompetence—it’s a perfect blueprint for a foreign adversary. Gutting the CDC cripples U.S. defenses, leaving us exposed to pandemics or bioweapons. 🛑

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

4/

The timing of these CDC layoffs is terrifying. With global health threats rising, a gutted CDC means the U.S. is slower to detect outbreaks, slower to respond, and at greater risk in any future health emergency. ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

5/

This isn’t just incompetence—it’s a perfect blueprint for a foreign adversary. Gutting the CDC cripples U.S. defenses, leaving us exposed to pandemics or bioweapons. 🛑

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

4/

The timing of these CDC layoffs is terrifying. With global health threats rising, a gutted CDC means the U.S. is slower to detect outbreaks, slower to respond, and at greater risk in any future health emergency. ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

3/
Even the team that publishes the MMWR—the weekly heartbeat of America’s health 💓📊—was cut ✂️

No data ❌
No surveillance 👀❌
No communication 📢❌

We’re flying blind 🕶️🌪️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

4/

The timing of these CDC layoffs is terrifying. With global health threats rising, a gutted CDC means the U.S. is slower to detect outbreaks, slower to respond, and at greater risk in any future health emergency. ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

3/
Even the team that publishes the MMWR—the weekly heartbeat of America’s health 💓📊—was cut ✂️

No data ❌
No surveillance 👀❌
No communication 📢❌

We’re flying blind 🕶️🌪️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 5h

Love this — Randy Erwin putting Trump on notice is exactly the kind of fierce, principled leadership we need right now. A passionate defense of federal workers, the rule of law, and the Constitution. Bravo. ✊🔥

x.com/mollyploofki...

Molly Ploofkins on X: "'You better start obeying the Constitution. It's going to get real ugly if you don't follow the laws and obey the Constitution like you swore an oath to do.' - National Federation of Federal Employees President Randy Erwin puts Trump on notice https://t.co/BmsaMEVQmB" / X

'You better start obeying the Constitution. It's going to get real ugly if you don't follow the laws and obey the Constitution like you swore an oath to do.' - National Federation of Federal Employees President Randy Erwin puts Trump on notice https://t.co/BmsaMEVQmB

x.com

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

3/
Even the team that publishes the MMWR—the weekly heartbeat of America’s health 💓📊—was cut ✂️

No data ❌
No surveillance 👀❌
No communication 📢❌

We’re flying blind 🕶️🌪️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

He cut epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

3/
Labs shuttered 🏢🔒
Field teams grounded 🧑‍🔬🛑
Global partnerships disarmed 🌐💔

Lose the CDC’s early warning, and you lose time ⏳—the razor’s edge between containment and catastrophe 💥

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

He cut epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

He cut epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

JPWeiland @jpweiland.bsky.social · 21h

Lacking CDC data again this week, we turn to our secondary wastewater source
@wastewaterscan.bsky.social

🔸The trajectory through September suggests that we may be approaching yearly lows today of 150-200k/day.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 6h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

He cut epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

JPWeiland @jpweiland.bsky.social · 21h

Lacking CDC data again this week, we turn to our secondary wastewater source
@wastewaterscan.bsky.social

🔸The trajectory through September suggests that we may be approaching yearly lows today of 150-200k/day.

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

8/
October 18 — #NoKingsDay — this is our moment.

The CDC has been gutted. Our public health system is crumbling. Our democracy is under siege. Our rights are slipping away.

We cannot stand by. We must rise up. We must demand: No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.

Join us.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

7/
If you care about this country’s safety 🇺🇸, call Congress now:
📞 (202) 224-3121

▪️Demand the 1,300 CDC professionals be rehired immediately 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬
▪️Demand RFK be fired

Then share this thread 🔁
Millions must know 🌍

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

6/ Basically: scientifically and practically, there’s no good reason to cut the CDC. Any action like this is political, ideological, or reckless—never evidence-based.

1 1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

7/
If you care about this country’s safety 🇺🇸, call Congress now:
📞 (202) 224-3121

▪️Demand the 1,300 CDC professionals be rehired immediately 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬
▪️Demand RFK be fired

Then share this thread 🔁
Millions must know 🌍

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

6/ Basically: scientifically and practically, there’s no good reason to cut the CDC. Any action like this is political, ideological, or reckless—never evidence-based.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

5/
Don’t call this “restructuring.” 🏗️
It’s sabotage—strategic, deliberate, and deadly. 💣

The CDC is America’s immune system.

And right now, it’s being dismantled piece by piece. ⚡🩸

2

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

6/ Basically: scientifically and practically, there’s no good reason to cut the CDC. Any action like this is political, ideological, or reckless—never evidence-based.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

5/
Don’t call this “restructuring.” 🏗️
It’s sabotage—strategic, deliberate, and deadly. 💣

The CDC is America’s immune system.

And right now, it’s being dismantled piece by piece. ⚡🩸

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

4/
Even the team that publishes the MMWR—the weekly heartbeat of America’s health 💓📊—was cut ✂️

No data ❌
No surveillance 👀❌
No communication 📢❌

We’re flying blind 🕶️🌪️

1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

5/
Don’t call this “restructuring.” 🏗️
It’s sabotage—strategic, deliberate, and deadly. 💣

The CDC is America’s immune system.

And right now, it’s being dismantled piece by piece. ⚡🩸

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

4/
Even the team that publishes the MMWR—the weekly heartbeat of America’s health 💓📊—was cut ✂️

No data ❌
No surveillance 👀❌
No communication 📢❌

We’re flying blind 🕶️🌪️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

3/
Labs shuttered 🏢🔒
Field teams grounded 🧑‍🔬🛑
Global partnerships disarmed 🌐💔

Lose the CDC’s early warning, and you lose time ⏳—the razor’s edge between containment and catastrophe 💥

1 1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

4/
Even the team that publishes the MMWR—the weekly heartbeat of America’s health 💓📊—was cut ✂️

No data ❌
No surveillance 👀❌
No communication 📢❌

We’re flying blind 🕶️🌪️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

3/
Labs shuttered 🏢🔒
Field teams grounded 🧑‍🔬🛑
Global partnerships disarmed 🌐💔

Lose the CDC’s early warning, and you lose time ⏳—the razor’s edge between containment and catastrophe 💥

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

1 1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

3/
Labs shuttered 🏢🔒
Field teams grounded 🧑‍🔬🛑
Global partnerships disarmed 🌐💔

Lose the CDC’s early warning, and you lose time ⏳—the razor’s edge between containment and catastrophe 💥

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

1,300 epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

2/
The CDC stopped Ebola 🦠
Tracked HIV 💉
Helped end smallpox ☣️

It’s the nation’s early warning radar 📡

Now it’s dark ⚠️

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

1,300 epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

1/
If you wanted to cripple America against biological threats, you’d gut the CDC.

Trump just did exactly that.

1,300 epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists—⚔️ slashed. The people who stop outbreaks before they start.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

9/ Trump is dismantling America’s immune system from the inside out.

He’s fired 1,300 of the CDC’s finest — the scientists who track outbreaks, contain threats, and keep us safe — all to please conspiracy theorists.

It’s a threat to every American life. A leader this reckless is unfit to serve.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

8/ They gutted the CDC—our first line of defense against outbreaks and biothreats. Surveillance gone. Communication channels destroyed.

On October 18, we rise.
For science. For truth. For our future.

📣Join the #NoKings protest.
➡️ www.nokings.org

1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

8/ They gutted the CDC—our first line of defense against outbreaks and biothreats. Surveillance gone. Communication channels destroyed.

On October 18, we rise.
For science. For truth. For our future.

📣Join the #NoKings protest.
➡️ www.nokings.org

1 1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

7/ If you care about our nation’s health, call your members of Congress NOW. Demand the immediate rehiring of the 1,300 CDC experts—epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists. This is a matter of national security.

📞 Call: (202) 224-3121 (U.S. Capitol switchboard)

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

6/ A deadly outbreak hits. Labs dark. Disease detectives gone. Surveillance erased. Communication channels destroyed. The nation’s health system paralyzed. We’d be flying blind—Trump did this on purpose.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

5/ If a foreign adversary wanted a playbook to weaken the U.S. on health, it would read: gut the CDC’s workforce — epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists, & researchers. Cutting ~1,300 expert staff tonight did exactly that. This is national-security disaster.

3 2

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

6/ A deadly outbreak hits. Labs dark. Disease detectives gone. Surveillance erased. Communication channels destroyed. The nation’s health system paralyzed. We’d be flying blind—Trump did this on purpose.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

5/ If a foreign adversary wanted a playbook to weaken the U.S. on health, it would read: gut the CDC’s workforce — epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists, & researchers. Cutting ~1,300 expert staff tonight did exactly that. This is national-security disaster.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

4/ The firings at the CDC are not just numbers—they are lives, expertise, and public health at stake. Critical functions like disease surveillance, research, and emergency response are being disrupted.

2 1

Reposted by Elizabeth

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

5/ If a foreign adversary wanted a playbook to weaken the U.S. on health, it would read: gut the CDC’s workforce — epidemiologists, disease detectives, lab scientists, & researchers. Cutting ~1,300 expert staff tonight did exactly that. This is national-security disaster.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

4/ The firings at the CDC are not just numbers—they are lives, expertise, and public health at stake. Critical functions like disease surveillance, research, and emergency response are being disrupted.

Elizabeth @elizathewell.bsky.social · 15h

3/ The CDC’s lab network, field teams, and global partnerships detect threats early — the difference between containment & catastrophe. Lose them, & you lose time

Cut the staff that publishes the MMWR, and the U.S. has no systematic way to communicate about the nation’s health

1 1